Railway-signal



(No Model.) u

H. HANSON.

` RAILWAYSIGNAL. 1210.262329, Patented Sept.19,`1882.

UNITED STATES PATENT OEErcE,

HENRY HANSON, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

RAILWAY-SIGNAL.

SPECIFICATION forming partof Letters Patent No. 264,829, dated September 19, 1882.

Application ined April 1r, rss2. (No model.) Y

To all whom it mag/concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY HANsoN, of Boston, county of Suffolk, and State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Railway-Signals, of which the following description,` in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification.

M yinvention relates to a railway-signal, and has for its object tc produce a simple and eilicient blocksignal which is operated mechanically by the train inpassing given point-s, at one of which points it causes the signal to be set to indicate danger and at the other causes it to be set in the opposite position to indicate safety.

The signal consists ot' a vane, ot' any desired shape, mounted on a shaft the axis of which passes through or is parallel with the plane ot' the said vane, so that by a quarter-rotation ot' the said shaft the said vanemay be moved from a position at right angles to the track,in which it is visible to the approaching engineer, to a position parallel with the track, in which only its edge can be seen by the engineer., the former position being employed to indicate dangerf and the latter safety.7 The shaft is provided with an actuating-spring, shown as a spiral spring coiled around it, and tending to rotateit in such manner as to move the signal, asjust desc1ibed,the shaftbein galso provided with astop projection or arm normally held bylongitudinal pressure of the said actuating-spring in engagement with a shoulder, which prevents the spring from acting to rotate the signal. The train in passing acts upon a lever, by which the said holding-projection is disengaged from the said shoulder, permitting the shaft to be rotated by its actuating-spring for a quarter of a revolution, at the end of which the said projection engages another shoulder, preventing its further rotation. A cord or chain or other ilexible connection is connected with the said shaft,

it being shown as attached to the holding-projeetion, which is made as a sheave to receive the said cord, andthe latter is connected by suitable devicessuch as bell-cranks and wireswith another lever or device operated by the passing train at the point at which it is' desired to restore the signal to the position occupied before it was released by the train and actunal is set in a given position-as, for instance,

indicating danger When the train passes it,

Vand is restored to the other position when the train arrives at a certain distance beyond the` said signal; but it is obvious thatthe operations might take place in inverse order, the signal being set in one position in advance ot' the train, and then restored to its other position when the train arrives at and. passes it.

Figure 1 is a plan view, partly in horizontal section, of a signal apparatus embodying this invention, and Fig. 2 a vertical section thereof. The signal a, shown asa iiat plate or disk, is'mounted on a vertical shaft, b, adapted to rotate in suitable bearin gs in an inclosin g case or frame-work, c. The said shaft b is provided with an actuating-spring, d, coiled around it, and attached at one end to the frame-work and at the other end to the shaft, tending to rotate it in the direction of the arrow 2, and at the saine time tending to produce a longitudinal movement of the said shaft in the direction of 8o the arrow 3, or downward. The` said shaft is provided with a holding-arm, e, shown in this instance as connected to the said shaft, and normally held by its downward tendency in engagement with a shoulder, f, which prevents the rotation of the cylinder under theaction of the spring d.

The lever g, pivoted at 4, has one end in p0- sition to be acted upon and depressed by the wheels of the train passing over the rails, and the other end engaging the under side of the holdin g-arm e, so that when the wheels actnpon the lever q it raises the said arm e out of engagementofthe shoulderf, permitting theshaft b and connected signal a to be rotated in the direction of the arrow 2 by the actuating-spring d, the said movement beinglimited at the end of a quarter of a turn by the arm e engaging a stop-shoulder, t. The signal a is thus set at IOO stop-arm e was engaged by the shoulderfbefore the lever g was actuated. The said arm e is provided with a curved grooved surface, 5, or is made as a sheave to receive a chain, 7c, or equivalentiexible band or connector, which is led over the guide-pulley m, and connected by bell-cranks u and Wires o, or equivalentdevices, with another lever or treadle (not shown) 1 a similar manner by another train. When desircd to operate the signal in advance of the train the normal condition of the apparatus would be with the arm c engaged with the shoulder i, in which case the approaching train would at the desired point rotate the said signal through the connectors 7c n o until the arm c was engaged by the shoulderf, as just described, the signal being retained in this position until the train arrives at and passes it, when the said train Would act upon the lever g to disengage the arm e from the shoulderf, permittingthe signal to be restored by the action ofthe spring al to its normal position.

It is obvious that the weight of the shalt b lnight be depended upon to move it in the direction of the arrow 3, to cause the arm e to engage the shoulderf; or that the said shalt might have no longitudinal movement, the arm Il ,I

c being splined thereon and having an independentlongitudinal movement to engage and disengage the shoulderf, it being acted upon by the spring d or not, as desired; or that an independentsheav'e might he used for thechain k without departing from this invention.

I donot broadly claim a signal mechanically actuated by the train in passing difterentpoints.

I claiml. rIhe signal, its shaft, having a rotary and longitudinal movement, and the actuating spring for the said shaft, combined with a stop arm and shoulder engaged byitin the longitudinal movement of the shalt to prevent the said spring from rotating, andthe lever actuated by the passing train and acting upon the said stop-arm to disengage it from its holding-shoulder and permit the spring to rotate the shaft, substantially as described.

2. The signal, its shaft, havingarotary and longitudinal movement, the holding-arm connected with the said shaft, and shoulders to engage it, combined with an actuating spiral spring surrounding the said shaft and tending to produce alongitudinaland rotary movement thereof, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two su bscribing witnesses.

HENRY HANSON.

Witnesses:

Jos. P. LIVERMORE, B. J. NoYEs. 

